NYCM Training – Weeks 12 & 13 Recap

October 8, 2012

Week 12 (9/24 – 9/30)

A majority of Week 12 of training consisted solely of me freaking out about Ragnar. I decided to “taper” in the 4 days leading up to the relay by not doing anything at all (except drink wine and eat tortilla chips).

Tuesday 10/2: 8.48mi – 1:14 (8:42 avg pace) – I went for an early morning run in Central Park with a coworker and we met Abby a bit into the run. We ran the big loop once and the small loop before heading back.

I was beyond thrilled that my legs were cooperating with just 3 days recovery from the Ragnar miles. Definitely a nice start to the work day!

Wednesday 10/2: Rest

Thursday 10/3: 9.8mi – 1:28 (9:01 avg pace) – I met Sky very early before work and we ran at a comfortable pace up and down the Westside Highway. I was very tired around mile 7 and definitely had to take some quick walk breaks but ended up finishing strong. Another solid run for the week!

Friday 10/4: Rest/Sleepover with Abby while we both dreaded our 8am wakeup call to run 20 miles.

Saturday 10/5: 20.2mi – 3:03 (9:04 avg pace) – I saw Lora’s blog post about the NY Flyers 3 Bridges Run and decided it was a perfect route for a long run. We both needed new scenery and I knew it would be great for me to run the bridges that I will be running in the NYC Marathon.

Route: Down Westside Highway (from Abby’s apartment on the UWS) and across Manhattan through City Hall Park. We cross the Brooklyn Bridge and exited at Prospect Street and when we ended up in the projects we needed to stop and double (and triple) check that we were still headed in the right direction (we were). We moved through the Navy Yard, Williamsburg and Greenpoint before crossing the Pulaski Bridge into Queens. We were in Long Island City for a few miles before crossing the Queensboro back into Manhattan and we ended the run with a lap of the reservoir.

The run was rough at times. I fueled exactly opposite than I have been in prior months. I used Gu and Sports Beans and I ended up with a stomach ache from miles 13-20. I am comfortable fueling with actual food (raisins, dried fruit) and I should have (NEED TO) remember to bring it with me when I have runs planned.

Besides the shooting stomach pains, the run was a success! We made an impromptu Vega protein shake (unflavored) with rice milk, plain Chobani and frozen fruit and it was actually disgusting. We need to work on our recipes 🙂

After the Protein shake (and Dunkin Donuts) we went to Equinox for “Yoga for Runners” hosted by Ashley. The class was instructed by the absolutely amazing (and super sweet) Kristin McGee and she was so helpful with the poses, demonstrating them as well as explaining why the poses were helpful for runners. She even let us know which poses were good for before long runs and after long runs – SO important! Unfortunately, because we had just ran 20 miles, Abby and I sat in child’s pose for 40% of the class. It was a lovely class and I was happy to be included! I will definitely be investing in Kristin’s DVDs and hopefully participating in some of her classes in the city. After the class we were able to chat with other bloggers and I was able to try Svelteprotein shakes (dairy and gluten-free)! I tried the chocolate shake and it was delicious! I want more.

I think the combination of the protein shake(s) and the yoga class helped me recover from the long run. I am nowhere near as sore as I usually would have been.

I am also participating in Lindsay’s October photo-a-day challenge. Saturday’s challenge was to complete a Tabata workout. I had heard of this workout but wasn’t exactly sure what is was so I googled it and make up my own!

I did the 4 minute workout and ended my day completely fucking exhausted (and with a vodka/soda).

Sunday 10/6: Besides 30 pushups and a plank, nothing.

Total Weekly Mileage: 38.5, a high for me this marathon cycle!

I am happy with my running this week, but am unhappy I haven’t done any strength or cross-training workouts. I need to work out my time management, and by that I mean I have to stop being lazy and get to the gym to lift a weight. I also need to buy a helmet (and probably knee and elbow pads) so I can finally ride my new bike!

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Meet Ashley

Welcome to Running Bun! I am Ashley, a working-mom who loves running and training for races, attempting yoga inversions, a strong cocktail, and a good dose of sarcasm. This blog is where I share a lot of random thoughts about the above with some parenting woes mixed in for good measure.